(PortOfThunderBay.com)

Port of Thunder Bay resumes shipping grain

Welland Canal portion of St. Lawrence Seaway also open for season

The Port of Thunder Bay has reopened for the season and is already shipping products including grain. The 2020 navigation season officially began Thursday with the arrival of the tug Sharon M1 and barge Huron Spirit. The vessel combination came abeam of the Mission Pier entrance at 9:30 p.m. local time, port officials said in […] Read more

(PortOfHalifax.ca)

Ottawa expected to ‘officially’ declare ag an essential service

The Western Grain Elevator Association says that designation will clarify things and help to keep grain moving

Canada’s grain industry expects the federal government will soon officially declare agriculture an essential service. Wade Sobkowich, executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA), says that designation will have a practical application. “Hopefully it ends all confusion about grain workers at elevators, railway workers and anybody else required for moving grain, as to […] Read more


CBOT May 2020 wheat with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat firm on Russia export quota plan

Chicago corn ends lower

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures rose on Friday on optimism about export prospects as a Russian plan to cap grain exports for the rest of the season shifted attention back to potential supply tensions during the coronavirus pandemic. However, futures pared gains on profit-taking ahead of the weekend and worries that the rally […] Read more

(MarketsFarm graphic)

Burnett on Markets: Suddenly agriculture is important

COVID-19 is putting food security in the spotlight

MarketsFarm — A trend has developed in the business news channels over the past week that has not been hard to miss. Suddenly the CEOs of big agriculture and food concerns are being featured front and centre during the business segments. Usually these companies are noted only when they release quarterly results and even then […] Read more


CFA president Mary Robinson at the organization’s AGM in Ottawa in February 2020. (CFA-fca.ca)

CFA seeks immediate cash for farmers

Farm and industry leaders say more needed beyond measures already announced

The Canadian Federation of Agriculture wants the federal government to provide immediate stimulus to farmers through business risk management (BRM) programs as part of its ongoing response to COVID-19. At a recent board meeting, the organization representing about 200,000 farmers across Canada passed motions calling for increased funding to the AgriInvest BRM program — and […] Read more

(Canada Border Services Agency video screengrab)

Cross-border truckers exempt from mandatory isolation

TFWs coming to Canada won't be exempt from new rule

Truckers and others who are still allowed to cross into Canada on essential business are exempt from a new two-week self-isolation rule for people arriving in the country. Health Minister Patty Hajdu on Wednesday announced an emergency order under the federal Quarantine Act, requiring anyone who’s entering Canada by land, air or sea to self-isolate […] Read more


CBOT May 2020 wheat with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat retreats from two-month peak

Corn rallies to end firm

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures fell on Thursday, retreating from a two-month high set the previous session, as traders booked profits and awaited developments in the coronavirus crisis that had sparked the recent run-up in wheat markets. Soybean futures also declined but corn rallied late in the session to eke out a modest […] Read more

(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Farm suppliers race COVID-19 spread for planting season

Winnipeg/Chicago | Reuters — North America’s biggest farm suppliers are accelerating shipments of fertilizer, seeds and agricultural chemicals to crop-growing regions in an unprecedented race against the coronavirus that threatens to disrupt planting season. The timing could not be worse for farmers preparing to plant crops. Disruptions in deliveries of fertilizer, seeds or chemicals could […] Read more